How the AFL finally embraced the US-style of building through trades and free agency
TWO clubs stand above all others as embracing the US-style building through trades and free agency — and what the Power and Bombers have done is “darn exciting” writes JON ANDERSON.
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IN the 1991 words of singer CeCe Peniston, “Finally” our AFL list managers are fully getting their heads around the potential for massive improvement via the trade table.
Never before have we seen such frenetic activity late in the day as happened yesterday, and while the whole exercise clearly runs for a week too long, at least it’s being fully utilised for its intended purpose.
Part of that activity was surely the observation that Richmond may not have won the 2017 AFL Premiership without Josh Caddy, Toby Nankervis and Dion Prestia, or the Western Bulldogs in 2016 without Tom Boyd and Shane Biggs.
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All secured over the past four trade weeks, yet we still remain so far behind US sport, or basketball in particular where they win a title or just fall short before shipping half their squad out for the next season.
Cleveland is a case in point, losing to the Golden State Warriors last year and, with Kyrie Irving wanting out, they went and traded for Isaiah Thomas and Jae Crowder, while adding veterans Derrick Rose and Dwyane Wade via free agency.
Hawthorn, so often the leader in list management over the past decade, got the hang of it earlier than most, hence Shaun Burgoyne, David Hale, Josh Gibson and Brian Lake being key components in their three-peat of 2013-14-15.
Geelong has gone down a similar path, adding Zach Tuohy, Lachie Henderson, Zac Smith, Patrick Dangerfield, Rhys Stanley and now Ablett via trade or free agency. It hasn’t guaranteed a flag for the Cats, but they have remained top four over the past two years despite the retirements of most of their 2007-09-11 Premiership champions.
Essendon and Port Adelaide are the latest trendsetters, and from this writer’s perspective what they have done is darn exciting.
It sends a message to their supporters that they are prepared to make the hard calls in an AFL era where there has never been a bigger window to win a surprise Premiership.
Devon Smith, Adam Saad and Jake Stringer represents a threesome of class for the Bombers, a trio who bring a bag of skill sets that can see that team challenge next year. Likewise Port with Tom Rockliff, Steven Motlop and Jack Watts.
It’s a sign of the times as clubs, and their members, want their success quicker than ever before. The world on instant gratification has well and truly arrived in the AFL.
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